Through the long days and nights he and four other men were trapped inside a flooded cave, all Mued Duangsomdy could think about was food.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.They had little of it with them when they ventured last month into the mazelike cave network in a remote area of central Laos, carrying prospecting tools to try their luck at finding gold, only to have fortune turn against them.“It was all dark, so we didn’t know days or nights,” Mued, 23, told NBC News in an interview, days after he became the first of the men to emerge from the cave amid a high-stakes, multinational rescue operation.
Two other miners who Mued said entered the cave a day or two earlier remain missing after more than two weeks.00:18Man rescued from cave believes other men are alive00:0000:00Chakkrit Taengtang, a Thai member assisting the rescue operation, said Wednesday that an earthquake had caused the cave entrance to collapse, and that the chambers inside the cave were now flooded.“The mission was already difficult, and now it has become even more challenging,” he said.Chakkrit said earlier this week that rescuers were focused on draining water from the cave and finding alternative ways to get in, with diving operations suspended for fear that the divers could also become trapped if there were a sudden downpour.Mued had joined the amateur prospectors from his village several times before, so he was familiar with the dank air and unpleasant conditions inside the cave, which officials had warned the public not to enter.As they worked, they were unaware that the wind outside was swelling into a monsoon-like storm that brought torrential rain.A flash flood sent water gushing into the cave’s narrow passages, leaving Mued and the others trapped more than 800 feet from the entrance.“We tried for three days to find ways out,” he said, only to hit dead ends each time.
“Then we realized we were stuc...